Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Chris/Cliff Paul, and Blake Griffin

Turns out, LA Clipper super-star Chris Paul really does have a twin brother Cliff. And he really is a State Farm agent, though nobody seems to know where. Remember the last generation of State Farm commercials before the Chris/Cliff show took centerstage? All one had to do was say, "State Farm is there" and, poof, an agent magically appeared in the backseat of your car, house, or anyplace else that was handy when an emergency arose. Maybe Cliff is one of those guys -- just poofing around wherever he's needed.

An idle suggestion: When in the confines of one's own bedroom enjoying the pleasures of the flesh, never mention State Farm. Cliff Paul poofing in at the height of passion could be a bit awkward -- to say the least.

According to his bio, Chris Paul was born somewhere in North Carolina. Given Cliff is his twin brother, it's probably a pretty safe bet he was born quite nearby. Yet like the commercials claim, somehow they got separated shortly after birth, and many years passed before they were finally reunited. Holy poof and point guard -- sometimes there actually is some truth in advertising. Who knew?

Blake Griffin was born in Oklahoma. He went to an Oklahoma high school, was an Oklahoma Sooner in college, and wound up being the first overall NBA draft pick by the Clippers back in 2009. Griffin recently signed a 5 year contract with the Clippers for $94.5 million, all guaranteed, which breaks down to an average yearly salary of about $19 million a year. While such an annual stipend might not impress people by the names of Gates, Buffet, Trump, Winfrey, and a few others -- I dare say most of us could do quite nicely on merely one hundredth of that sum, a paltry $190,000 a year.

Nevertheless, it's the American way. If you can shoot, jump, rebound, and slam dunk a basketball better than most -- chances are you're going to make way more money than the average schmuck who performs such mundane tasks as brain surgery.

While an insurance agent like Cliff Paul woke up in the financial garden of Eden, cha-ching, given the commercials made possible by reuniting with his much more famous twin brother -- Chris Paul ($18 million a year) doesn't need the endorsement money either. But for some of these guys, it's never enough -- is it?

At least State Farm is still an American company. I think.

But Blake Griffin has chosen to endorse Kia, a South Korean automobile manufacturer that in recent years has been flooding the American market -- and airwaves -- with their products and advertisements. The one-time Oklahoma phenom, now NBA All-Star, should be ashamed of himself for having sold out to a foreign company that, by definition, is trying to take business away from American companies.

And all for a few more bucks he obviously doesn't need.

No comments:

Post a Comment